some lawmakers want to know why they are just now finding out about the investigation. good morning and welcome to "news 4 today." i'm eun yang. >> and i'm aaron gilchrist. we begin with a live look outside at 6:00 a.m. this monday morning. 54 degrees outside our studios. a gorgeous weekend is what we had around here. the hope is we can continue that for a moment longer. >> storm team 4 meteorologist tom kierein here with the forecast. >> good morning. starting off, it's a chill in the air, and we're under a mostly clear sky. we do have high clouds drifting in from the west, and it's mostly cloudy, shenandoah valley into the mountains now. there it's milder. it's in the 50s to near 60 where we're clear here around the metro area and most of maryland and virginia, it's in the 40s. low to mid-40s much of the region, including montgomery, arlington, fairfax, prince george's counties. and we also have patchy fog forming in some of the rural areas, especially the rural roads near open fields. watch out for patchy dense fog,

watch out for deer, they're active. sunrise at 6:48. we'll still be in the 40s. by noontime, the low 60s with increasing clouds. then all cloudy the rest of the afternoon. it will be mild up into the upper 60s by midafternoon. sunset at 4:56. boy, it's hard to get used to that early sunset. by then, we'll be back down to the low 60s. then some rain moving in tonight. details on that in ten minutes. a look at your traffic on this monday morning. here's danella. >> good morning. first 4 traffic, we're going to start in virginia. if you're traveling along i-95 northbound at lorlorton. report of a disabled vehicle on the left shoulder lane. heading up from the occoquan, nice and clear. hov restrictions lifted for the holiday today. getting to the beltway, no issues at all. 11 minutes to get from the occoquan to the beltway. you're at 61 miles an hour. here in d.c., a live look at new york avenue as you make your way past bladensburg.

no major delays in the district and no reports of any accidents right now. as you make your commute in maryland along 29, no issues between north and southbound 29 between columbia and the beltway. light volume. no accidents to report. eun, over to you. >> danella, thank you. breaking news right now. a syrian fighter jet bombed an area controlled by rebels near the turkish border. witnesses say the bombing caused several casualties. they took over three security compounds in that area last week. thousands of refugees have left. the violence in syria killed more than 36,000 people since an uprising over syrian president bashar al assad's regime. israel fired a rn warning s from a stray shell. israel filed a complaint with the united nations over that incident. there are concerns the violence in syria will spill over into neighboring countries. and more breaking news at this hour from israel. the military there targeting militants in the gaza strip following several rocket attacks. this morning militants there

launched ten rockets into southern israel. a rocket hit a house, damaging that home and nearby cars overnight. no one was hurt. the israeli air force carried out several raids in the gaza strip in response to palestinian rocket fire. israel says more than 110 rockets have hit israel since saturday. investigators want to know why they're only finding out now about the investigation that revealed now former cia director general petraeus' affair. the fbi launched the investigation who jill kelley, an unpaid social liaison at an air force base in florida, complained about receiving harassing e-mails from petraeus' biographer paula broadwell. agents later discovered broadwell and petraeus were having an affair. eric cantor's spokesperson says the congressman knew about the relationship late last month, but president obama apparently didn't know about it until last thursday, when petraeus offered his resignation.

>> this is something that could have had an effect on national security. i think we should have been told. >> seems it's gone on for several months, and now it appears they're saying the fbi didn't realize until election day that general petraeus was involved. it just doesn't add up. >> jill kelley and her husband released a statement last night asking for privacy right now. congress may still eventually call petraeus to answer questions about the deadly attack on the u.s. consulate in benghazi, libya, even though he's no longer head of the cia. petraeus was supposed to testify this week in front of the senate intelligence committee. acting cia director mike morrell will take his place. senator dianne feinstein, the committee's chairwoman, insists the resignation has nothing to do with the attack, which killed four americans. president obama will meet with the labor and business communities before sitting down with congressional leaders from both parties on friday. the president says he wants to build a consensus for his approach to avoiding the

potential economic catastrophe. senior democratic and republican officials say they're confident they can reach a deal on a spending plan before the end of the year. that's when hundreds of billions of tax hikes and spending cuts will take effect, possibly sending us into say deep recession. economists warn we may feel the effects of the budget standoff long before new year's eve. >> if three or four weeks from now they're making no progress at all, you're going to see the anxiety and nervousness growing both in the markets and corporate boardmarooms. it's going to be a rough two months for the u.s. economy. >> president obama says he's willing to compromise to reach an agreement, but he insists america's top earners pay more in taxes. firefighters pulled a victim from the c&o canal around 11:00 last night. it's not clear how he fell into the canal. at last check he's listed in critical condition. police are trying to figure out who shot and killed a

20-year-old man in prince george's county. they found the man suffering from a gunshot wound in lewisdale yesterday morning. police are working on a motive in this case. police also trying to figure out a motive in a fast food restaurant shooting. the man at the taco bell on minstrel way in columbia was shot several times early yesterday morning. he is currently in critical condition. police say they're looking for two men who they believe are responsible for the shooting. there are some changes to public transportation today because of veterans day. metro is open, but it's running on a saturday schedule. off-peak fares are in effect all day, and there's free, parkings well. no marc or vre service today. two orange line stations are closed because of track work today. the ballston and virginia square stations are shut down. buses will take riders between east falls church and clarendon. also single tracking between vienna and east falls church due to work on the silver line.

today the heat of montgomery county schools will share his vision of the future for the county school system. school superintendent joshua starr will deliver his first state of the schools address. he calls it building the future together. starr is now in the middle of his second school year on the job. a lot of people still reeling from sandy after seeing red this morning. the comment that has them fired up.

welcome back. that iconic blue dress judy garland wore in the wizard of oz has sold at auction for

$480,000. dorothy had more than one of those beginning ham blue dresses to get her through the filming, but this is the only complete version to still exist. no word op who the buyer was. the previous owner bought the dress for $2,000 in 1981. what a bargain. look at that increase in value. >> you think so? >> $480,000 from $2,000? >> now. would it continue to? >> that's a good question. the fabric is deteriorating. >> you can't wear it? >> no, you can't wear it. time for weather and traffic on the ones. >> tom kierein's got the forecast. tom? >> delight in our eastern sky. live view from the nbc 4 hd city camera showing a thin sliver of moon in the eastern sky. mostly clear now over washington. it's in the chilly 40s with some patchy fog in the rural areas. that's going to be the story through 7:00 a.m. by noontime, the low 60s. ought to hit mid and upper 60s midafternoon with increasing clouds. rain likely moving into the

metro area in the west, perhaps between 10:00 and midnight that rain moving in and continuing into tomorrow. we'll look at that and the rest of the week in ten minutes. how's traffic now, danella? >> not seeing reports of any accidents. if you're traveling in prince george's county, we'll take a closer look. checking local words in clinton, port washington, as well as brandywine, nice and clear. if you're making the commute along 5 right at 301, as you head northbound, no issues. southbound as well nice and clear. connecting to the beltway, no problems at all. aaron and eun? >> thank you, danella. it is now 6:12, 54 degrees. at 6:25, the story you need to hear before eating your breakfast.

"and what's your name?" "oh, it's flo." "and what do you do?" "oh, i sell insurance like no one else." "oh, that's nice." "thank you." now, that's progressive. call or click today. this morning investigators trying to figure out what caused a deadly explosion in indiana. it also flattened two houses and damaged dozens of homes. those who lived in the area

scrambled to get away. >> car windows got blown in. my daughter was under about 12 panes of glass, and my son was in the front trying to get in, and the whole house shifted. so he couldn't come in the front door. i told him to come to the back door, and i thought it was an earthquake. >> firefighters evacuated more than 200 people from the neighborhood. investigators expect some sort of gas leak caused the blast. 16 after the hour now. today marks exactly two weeks since hurricane sandy crashed ashore in the northeast. over the weekend, another person in new york died from storm related injuries. that brings the u.s. death toll to 121. crews are still working around the clock to restore power to about 120,000 homes and businesses in new york and new jersey. fema has already approved more than $450 million in assistance. new york governor andrew cuomo plans to ask the federal government nor $3 for $30 billi disaster aid.

the american red cross has received $117 million in donations to help the victims of sandy. the agency also says its response has been near flawless, but some residents in hard hit areas don't agree with that. they say the help has been minimal, sporadic, and very hard to find. >> we haven't seen red cross at all. red cross hasn't offered my assistance up until yesterday. they take people's hard working money to assist people, and then when push comes to shove, they don't assist. >> i think that we are near flawless so far in this operation. i'm so proud of everything we're doing on the ground. >> the red cross says sandy poses unique challenges. it's the first cold weather hurricane and struck in an extremely urban area. the agency maintains it has more than 5,700 volunteers in the region who have already handed out more than 5 million meals and snacks to people in need. things go from bad to worse in guatemala after another large earthquake rattled the country.

a 6.5 magnitude quake struck the country's pacific coast, sending people running for cover just days after a 7.4 magnitude quake on wednesday. that quake is being blamed for 52 deaths as well as serious structural damage. so far it looks like this newest quake has not claimed any lives. on the other side of the world, an earthquake destroys ancient placesf worship in myanmar. the 6.2 magnitude quake rocked the small east asian country. it caused buildings and bridges and collapse as well as ancient pagodas. 18 people are feared dead. a teenager faces charges for scaring people in a colorado movie theater. "the denver post" says a 17-year-old boy wore a mask resembling the joker from the batman movies into the movie theater in boulder, colorado. the teen was unarmed and didn't threaten anyone but sent several people running from the theater. in july more than 12 people were

killed and 30 injured during the showing of a film "the dark knight rises" in nearby aurora, colorado. in a detroit police station, officers kill a man after he shot at them. a 64-year-old man walked into police headquarters yesterday afternoon and opened fire at the front desk, hitting protective glass. one officer was injured in the shootout and is expected to make a full recovery. 6:19 now. the nfl's replacement refs may have gotten a lot of grief this year, but d.c. united fans have a bone to pick with one group of regular mls officials. they are furious over this noncall during the leg of the eastern conference finals last night. referees did not call a foul on houston dynamo defenders who appear to take down united's rafael augusto late in the first half. houston went on to win 3-1. after the game, d.c. united head coach ben olsen made sure the referees and the media knew exactly what he thought about that play. >> what can i say?

everybody in the stadium, everybody on our bench, everybody on their bench, everybody at home saw that it's a red card. it's a takedown, it's a red card. i don't know what to say about it. >> d.c. united must win by two goals next sunday against the dynamo just to force overtime. that's because two match series are decided by total goals. >> the crews are at it. this is not a wrestling match, ladies and gentlemen. it's a nascar race. jeff gordon and clint bowyer's pit crews got in a fist fight after gordon intentionally wrecked both of them. gordon was upset bowyer had bumped him earlier. nascar is thinking of disciplining both drivers for the brawl. >> nascar is big where i come from in richmond. nascar racing is pretty significant. i've always heard that jeff gordon is not one that non-jeff gordon fans can like very much.

i wonder what the backlash will be against him on this one. >> let's check the forecast now. 6:21. time for weather and of course t traffic on the ones. gorgeous sunrise under way. a little thin crescent moon above that. 50 at reagan national. we have it in the 40s in the rural areas where there's some patchy fog, and it's turning more humid. milder, all these areas in green in the 50s and 60s out of the mountains. that's ahead of a front that's going to be coming our way later today. we'll have that front moving in tonight. before then, we'll warm to the upper 60s by midafternoon with increasing clouds. before midnight, ought to have the rain sweeping into the metro area in the west and off and on and through the morning commute. a high only near 50. chilly change moves in after that front. near freezing both wednesday and thursday mornings. afternoon highs only in the 40s to near 50. and the chill remains into the weekend. could get rain sunday. i'm back in ten minutes.

danella here now with a look at traffic. good morning. >> good morning. still pretty light volume on the roadways. you have to head out. crossing over the wilson bridge. no issues as you travel on the inner loop and outer loop. outer loop continuing into virginia. here's a live look as you make your way past van dorn. again, no issues continuing. this time heading past the american legion bridge. in both directions, very light volume. getting by without any issues. also taking the beltway in montgomery county, nice and clear. prince george's county, not seeing reports of any accidents. aaron and eun, back over to you. >> thanks, danella. ahead, skip the veggies and have a soda. >> did you just say that outd loud? >> i like that. after the break, we'll tell you what pepsi is adding to some drinks.

it's my coffee when i want it. you press a button, you have great dunkin' coffee. i got my coffee for the morning, i got my dunkin' k-cup packs for the rest of the day. only available at dunkin' donuts restaurants. america runs on dunkin' coffee.

i'm drinkin' a dunkin' latte. i'm in love with my dunkin' latte. it is a treat. they're packed with flavor. it's my kind of latte. try the simply delicious latte everyone can enjoy. america runs on dunkin'! welcome back at 6:25. a new study shows that breakfast sandwiches could be hurting your heart.

even though they only have about 400 calories, they slow down your blood vessels which over time could increase chance of heart attack and stroke. there are a lot of ways to add fiber to your diet -- fruits, veggies, whole wheat, and now pepsi. tomorrow pepsico plans to launch a new beverage in japan called pepsi special. according to the japanese website, it will include the fat blocking fiber dextrin. this isn't the first time fiber has been put in a japanese cola. the company kirin also offers a sugar free soft drink with dextrin. >> sign me up. >> as long as it tastes the same. 6:26. 64 degrees. ahead, why a lot of women may be putting down the cell phones this morning.

new this morning, a royal plot thwarted. the arrest overnight of a man accused of targeting prince charles. good morning. welcome to "news 4 today." i'm aaron gilchrist. >> and i'm eun yang. it is monday, november 12, 2012. here's a live view of the world war ii memorial in washington. many visited yesterday, but many will be honoring our veterans today, and they couldn't have asked for a better day. >> meteorologist tom kierein is outside on the storm team 4 weather deck. been a while since you haven't had to bundle up out there. you've got your wind breaker on. there's a the bit of a bree. it is chilly this morning. the predawn sky. you can see venus up there and a crescent moon as well. winds up to 5 to 10 miles an hour. as you take a look around, cloud cover moving into the mountains

of ahead of rain in the ohio valley. locally, the rest of virginia, maryland, the district all under a clear sky this morning, and where it's clear, it is chilly, down to the 40s. where the clouds have closed in, there's milder air out of the mountains in the 50s to low 60s there now. hour by hour today, we'll have a rapid warmup this morning. by 8:00 a.m., still patchy fog in rural areas near 50. by noontime, low 60s. mid and upper 60s by midafternoon. a lot of cloudiness moving in from the west. sunrise at 6:48. sunset at 4:56. rain moves in tonight. we'll talk about that coming up in ten minutes. we'll look at that with danella. first 4 traffic, if you're traveling along 15, route 15 in frederick southbound at exit 11, disabled vehicle there. right now we're going to fly over to i-270, still looking like a nice story to tell you, nice and clear out of urbana.

trip to clarksburg, no issues as well. continuing towards gaithersburg, rockville as well, as you continue to the spur and even to the beltway. travel lanes are open. here's a live look from the beltway, i-270. flowing from the inner loop and outer loop. as you head towards i-95, no issues to report. i'm back in ten minutes. aaron and eun, back over to you. new this morning, police in new zealand arrested a man who they say is planning to attack members of the royal family. officers stopped him as prince charles and his wife camilla visit the country. the inspector general of the bbc resigned following revelations a popular tv and radio personality abused children. george en entwhistle apologized for covering up information about jimmy seville. and to complicate matters, the bbc pulled a report shortly

after seville died, choosing to hide the information. d.c. firefighters are trying to figure out what sparked the flames at an apartment building in northwest d.c. this is at the intersection of 14th and spring streets just before midnight. when crews got there, the building was full of smoke. we're told the fire started in the basement and was quickly put out. no one was hurt. montgomery county firefighters also trying to figure out what started this fire in dickerson, maryland. firefighters posted these photos on twitter. as you can see, that home on bealsville road was engulfed in flames when they got there. we're told it was a total loss. no one was hurt. the man accused of raping 17 women over a 15-year period tells "the washington post" he doesn't know why he couldn't stop attacking women. aaron thomas was arrested last year in connecticut and is believed to be the east coast rapist. he is expected to plead guilty later this month to two attacks in northern virginia. he told "the post," they were objects. i did so much, i can't remember. in a series of phone interviews from jail, thomas says he knows

something is wrong with him, but he does not believe he is crazy. bethesda native, alan gross, has lost more than 100 pounds since being imprisoned in cuba three years ago. now his lawyer is asking an anti-torture expert for the united nations for help. in a letter made public yesterday, a lawyer for gross says, if he continues to be denied proper medical care, his treatment will, quote, surely amount to torture. earlier this year, the 63-year-old gross developed a mass behind his shoulder that u.s. doctors say he has not been treated for. gross is serving a 15-year sentence for what cuba calls charg crimes against the state, charges that gross denies. the incidence of autism is higher in children whose mothers had flu or a fever for more than a week. they examined the files of 7,000 children born in denmark. mothers who had the flu for at

least a week while pregnant had twice as high a risk of developing autism by age 3. pregnant mothers may want to put the cell phone down. a new study out of yale says cell phone radiation exposure during pregnancy impacts fetal brain development and may cause hyperactivity. the mice exposed to the cell phones were more active, and their memory was slightly decreased. it is now 6:35. the "today" show is coming up at 7:hourmt. let's check in with matt lauer to see what they're working on. >> eun, always good to see you. coming up, new details on the resignation of cia director david petraeus, his alleged affair, and the threatening e-mails his mistress sent to another woman. plus we'll talk to the retired general's former spokesman about the conversation he had with him over the weekend.

also ahead, a health alert. that new study linking the flu during pregnancy to autism in children. and we'll meet the dad and son involved in the dragon baby, one of the hottest videos online. plus oscar winner robert deniro, and a live performance from susan boyle. we'll welcome willie geist to our family on his first official morning as the co-host of our 9:00 hour, as we get started on a monday morning right here on "today." eun, back to you. >> be nice to him, matt. >> we are always nice to willie. we adore willie geist. he's going to be a great addition. >> we do too. thanks, matt. see you soon. >> thanks. bye. >> looking forward to that for sure. 6:36 is the time. the plan to ease congestion on local roads that drivers are not going to like. >> plus a rite of passage for you and i. what may be on the way out in local schools.

♪ ♪ no two people have the same financial goals. pnc works with you to understand yours and help plan for your retirement. visit a branch or call now for your personal retirement review.

welcome back. people in venice, italy, are used to seeing water surrounding them, but this is more than usual. this is the sixth highest level of flood waters in 140 years. the city is working on movable barriers that will protect it from high tides and flood waters, but they won't be operational for another two years. >> look at that. that's stacary. you're used to a little extra water. >> people fear the city is sinking. that would be tragic. >> coming up on 6:41, take a look. as the sun works its way over the horizon in the district, we're in for another beautiful day, right, tom? >> right. sunrise in about seven minutes. we're going to keep the balmy weather we had going for the

weekend. for the veterans day events today, we'll have beautiful weather. sunshine this morning. by 8:00 a.m., still patchy fog in some of the rural areas, near 50. by noontime, low 60s with increasing clouds. cloudy the rest of the afternoon. highs reaching mid-60s. then this evening is when we'll likely have the rain moving in. here's the monday evening planner. we'll have that rain moving in this evening and perhaps lingering through the morning commute on tuesday with chilly weather to linger all the way through the end of the week. we'll take a look at the weekend coming up in ten minutes. that will be at 6:51. now a look at your traffic. here's danella. good morning. >> good morning, tom. just into the first 4 traffic office, i'm tracking an accident outer loop of the beltway approaching central avenue. looks like it's blocking the left side of the roadway so far. you can see emergency response workers still heading towards this accident, and you are jammed as you make your way towards central avenue. packed right now.

again, this accident just occurring because i saw a few moments ago the fire department arrive on the scene. just as more emergency response workers are arriving, your delays growing again. out of the central beltway. this is your commute, nice and clear on the 66. central restrictions lifted in virginia. from fairfax county parkway getting to the beltway, no issues. about 11 minutes and at 58 miles per hour. not bad at all. i'm back in ten. aaron and eun, back over to you. breaking news right now. a syrian fighter jet bombed an area controlled by rebels near the turkish border. the rebels took over three security compounds in that area last week. the blast killed at least six people and injured dozens of others. one of the rocket propelled grenades landed inside turkey. there are concerns the violence in syria will spill over into neighboring countries.

syria fired rockets. israel reported to the united nations about the incident. and rockets launched from the gaza strip into southern israel. this comes after the israeli forces carried out several raids of the gaza strip in response to rocket fire over the weekend. the rocket hit a house in israel and damaged nearby cars overnight. no one was hurt. more than 110 rockets have hit israel since saturday. this morning we're learning more about the fbi investigation that revealed that now former cia director david petraeus was having an affair. a senior member of the military says petraeus' mistress, author paula broadwell, was sending threatening e-mails to an unpaid social liaison at an air force base in tampa. that woman has been identified as jill kelley. she reportedly went to the fbi when she received the harassing messages, and that's what triggered the bureau's investigation. >> mrs. broadwell sent these

threatening e-mails to her, and she was frightened, and she went to the fbi. oh, i can't believe it, but that's what it is. >> one of petraeus' former associates says petraeus and his wife were longtime friends of kelley and her husband. he said petraeus and kelley did not have an affair. petraeus won't testify before congress this week about the attack on the u.s. consulate in benghazi, libya. acting cia director mike morrell will take his place. senator dianne feinstein, who's chairwoman of the senate intelligence committee, said the committee may decide to call petraeus to testify in the future. she said his resignation had nothing to do with the september attack in benghazi, which killed four american citizens, including u.s. ambassador christopher stevens. president obama will sit down this week with members of the labor and business communities for his approach at avoiding the so-called fiscal cliff. he'll meet with leaders from

both parties on friday. leaders say they're willing to compromise to avoid the fiscal cliff. they're confident they can reach agreement on a spending plan before the end of the year to avoid billions in tax hikes and spending cuts. they said they're willing to allow some tax hikes to end the budget stalemate. democrats also say they're willing to cut spending. >> in the senate where we've actually gotten rid of tax credits, i think that's a given, and i think the vast majority of americans agree with that. >> i think, if the house stands for anything, it's cut government spending, as tom coburn said. we have to do more of it. we heard the mandate in 2010 where it was a clear mandate, cut spending, and we did. >> economists warn that the unemployment rate could soar to over 9% if no deal is reached, and that could send us into a deep recession. new this morning, a man is in the hospital after being pulled from the c&o canal. firefighters pulled the victim from the water around 11:00 last

night. it's not clear how he fell into the canal. at last check he was listed in critical condition. prince george's county police are trying to figure out who shot and killed a 20-year-old man. police found him suffering from a gunshot wound in the 7300 block of 23rd avenue in lewisdale yesterday morning. police say they are working on a motive in this case. this morning police are looking for two men they believe are responsible for a shooting at a fast food restaurant in howard county. investigators say the manager at the taco bell on minstrel way in columbia was shot several times early yesterday morning. he is currently in critical condition. police are also looking for a motive in this case. nearly 300 janitors at walter reed national military medical center in bethesda say they haven't been paid in two weeks. the service employees international union that represents the janitors says it has filed a complaint against federal contractor escap enterprises. the union says the company claims it hasn't been paid by the government. the union also says the janitors

have been reluctant to strike because of concern for patients at the hospital. if you love live sports or concerts, this could be music to your ears. some competition in the ticket market. cnbc's seema mody is live with that. emg is teaming up with stub hub. aeg is the owner of more than 100 venues worldwide, including the staples center in l.a. and the 02 arena in london. coming up, those shopping for tickets will be able to buy or sell them through stub hub. stub hub makes money by charging big commissions on the sales. picture day has lost its cool factor. students are turning away from the classic blue or black back drop of the school photos. sales have dropped 2% over the past decade. picture day is when many schools

seize the opportunity to raise much needed cash. parents are opting for more expensive portraits, paying upwards of $1,200 versus the school's $60 package. >> that's too much for a picture. what am i supposed to do now? seema mody, thank you. the price of gas is expected to drop through the thanksgiving holiday. the lundberg survey found the average price for regular unleaded already dropped nearly 21 cents in two weeks. could drop another 10 cents to 20 cents. aaa reporting the average price of regular unleaded in the district is $3.57. in maryland right now, it's about $3.45. in virginia the price dropped a cent for an average of $3.27. in west virginia, it's $3.57. the national average is $3.44. a survey by coupon cabin found those hosting a thanksgiving dinner plan to spend $246 this year.

it also found one in ten people will not host because of the price. nearly 15% said they felt pressured into hosting because relatives or friends didn't want to pay for it. to keep your cost down, the site recommends you buy generic brands and keep your decorations simple. the turkey in the middle of the table is the only centerpiece that you need. well, thanksgiving travel is usually hectic, but even more so in our area. a new report from travel site orbitz shows reagan national airport is the ninth busiest airport from november 21st to the 26th. more than 24 million people are expected to hit the skies this thanksgiving, an increase of around 150,000. that's despite prices being higher compared to the same time last year. if you're not actually looking at the tv screen, you've got to come and see this. there's a new device out there that promises to help travelers sleep pretty much anywhere while they're traveling. >> the sleeper is 100% adjustable to every face, shape, and size. >> all right. apparently, this thing is called

the upright sleeper, as you heard. it's a modified neck brace that lets you take a nap and sleep straight up, just like this guy. the website says it's for people tired of inflatable pillows. this thing is available on sky mall and costs about $40. >> they come up with all kinds of stuff on sky mall. have you seen? all kinds of kitchen gadgets and pillows. >> what's wrong with just on the guy next to you. that's the way it's been done for years. >> you don't want to do that. you get a krik crick in your ne and it leads to awkward moments. just about 6:51. time for weather and traffic on the ones. it's gorgeous out. >> sunrise occurring over the potomac. the potomac looks like it's filled with orange juice this morning. patchy fog in the rural areas, much like it looked yesterday morning. i took this picture of fog in northern montgomery county. this was just after dawn yesterday morning, and it's kind of looking like that some of the rural areas right now.

post your piqcs to weather@nbcwash.com, and you'll see them on my facebook and twitter pages as well. as we take a look now at the view from space, we do have a mostly clear sky at dawn in washington, but it's all cloudy farther west, shenandoah and the mountains. farther west, there's a conveyor belt of rain running south to north through the ohio valley and all the way up into canada. that's going to begin to slowly creep its way east and move into the metro area by later this evening after sunset. looks like the timing on that right now. ahead of that, it's mild. it's in the 60s where it's getting some rain now in ohio and parts of kentucky and western west virginia. but east of there, where it's cleared out, we're in the 40s to around 50 now. and that patchy fog will still be around about 8:00 this morning with the sunshine over the fog. we'll be near 50 degrees. and then by noontime, fog gone. partly sunny. we'll be in the low to mid-60s for your lunch hour. then this afternoon, by

midafternoon, ought to hit the upper 60s for a brief time. and that's it. it is going to be turning chilly later tonight into tomorrow as we get that rain moving in. does look like the timing on that may be around 10:00 to midnight in the metro area coming in from the west, and occasional showers after midnight through the morning commute on tuesday. after that, we ought to get sun back tomorrow afternoon with a high only near 50. cold mornings and chilly afternoons wednesday all the way into the weekend. might get some rain sunday. danella, how's traffic? i'm still tracking that accident on the beltway, outer loop at central avenue. starting to see delays grow because of the crash there. let me show you, sluggish getting by. you have to stick to the right. this accident is quickly clearing. just a moment ago, it was blocking two of your left lanes. now it's down to just the left lane. they are trying to clear the accident right now. as you're making the commute, outer loop of the beltway, once you get to exit 13. richie marlboro road, you're heavy on the brakes and solid to central avenue. then from there, the road opens

up, and travel lanes are open. let's talk about i-95 in virginia, nice and clear. as you make your way past lorton north and southbound. hov restrictions lifted for the day. nice travel speed from the occoquan. 11 minutes to get to the beltway. aaron, back over to you. >> thank you, danella. montgomery county wants to convert some of the lanes on the county's busiest roads to bus only lanes. that's according to "the washington post." montgomery county leaders say that the move is a faster and more affordable way to improve traffic congestion. planners say the lanes would be on rockville pike, new hampshire avenue, route 29, georgia avenue, and new hampshire avenue, as i said. the planning committee will discuss the proposal during public meetings next week and in february. today the head of montgomery county schools will share his vision for the future of the county school system. school superintendent joshua starr will deliver his first state of the schools address at the music center at strathmore. he's calling it building the future together. it begins with breakfast about a

half hour from now, and starr will deliver his address at 8:30. a guest speaker at georgetown university is sure to draw a crowd. bono from u2 will be on campus. he'll speak about social enterprise and the power of sber special movement. the speech will take place at gaston hall. they will also be addressing it on his website. i love bono. >> i don't think he'llsing. >> you never know. there's a cat in bowie, maryland, that came dangerously close to losing one'her nine lives. >> the cat spent days on top of a utility pole. the cat named fierce disappeared on wednesday. and yesterday a boy and his mother spotted the cat off this utility pole. they called in firefighters, who said she needed to contact the power company just to be safe. that's when the cat's owner showed up. >> when she showed up, she asked what we were doing. we said, well, there's a cat up there. she said, oh, my goodness, fierce. we're like, you know the cat? she said, that's my cat.

i lost him five days ago. >> five days ago? crews showed up last night with a cherry picker. the trouble is scared little fierce took off down the pole and into the bushes. the cat's owner says she's relieved the cat is down and thinks he will return home today. changes today due to veterans day observed. metro is running on a saturday schedule. off-peak fares in effect all day long, and free parking at all the stations as well. no marc or vre service either today. again about metro, ballston and virginia square stations shut down today for track work. buses will take you between east falls church and clarendon. also single tracking between vienna and east falls church because of work on the silver line. everything should be back to normal tomorrow morning. and that is "news 4 today." thank you for starting your day with us. >> the "today" show is next. on this veterans day, we leave you with some of the sounds from an event i was proud to host. "america's veterans, a musical tribute," on maryland public

television. you can catch it again at 8:00 tomorrow night on mpt. ♪ ♪ ♪

in the people, businesses, and organizations that call greater washington home. whether it's funding an organization that provides new citizens with job training, working with an anacostia school that promotes academic excellence, or supporting an organization that serves 5,000 meals a day across d.c., what's important to the people of greater washington is important to us, and we're proud to work with all those who are making our communities stronger.

♪ [ multiple sounds making melodic tune ] ♪ [ male announcer ] at northrop grumman, every innovation, every solution, comes together for a single purpose -- to make the world a safer place. that's the value of performance. northrop grumman. cool. you found it. wow. nice place. yeah. [ chuckles ] the family thinks i'm out shipping these. smooth move. you used priority mail flat rate boxes. if it fits, it ships for a low, flat rate. paid for postage online and arranged a free pickup. and i'm gonna track them online, too. nice. between those boxes and this place, i'm totally staying sane this year. do i smell snickerdoodles? maybe. [ timer dings ] got to go.

priority mail flat rate boxes. online pricing starts at $5.15. only from the postal service.